Bacteria collections lab
Purpose- I'm doing this to determine how the amount and kind of bacteria varies in different people. I will be testing the amount of nasal bacteria in different people and whether this amount changes or stays the same based on their different characteristics.
Hypothesis- We are swabbing Kathleen's nose, Vanessa's nose, and Ace's nose. I predict that Ace will have the most bacterial growth in his section of the petri dish, but that all 3 kinds of bacteria will be the same.
Materials:
- q-tips
-petri dish
-wax pencils
-pencil
-paper
-incubator
-tap water
-sink
-inoculating loop
-bunsen burner
-microscope
-microscope slide
-bunsen lighter
-slide holder
-beaker
-dH2O
-crystal violet
-iodine (IKI)
-ethanol (alcohol 95%)
-safranin
-disinfectant
-paper towel
Petri dish sections:
1. Vanessa
2. Kathleen
3. Ace
4. Control center
Method:
1. take your petri dish and divide into 4 sections using your wax pencil
2. label the petri dish with you name
3. label each of the 4 sections "1, 2, 3, 4", 3 for your subject's bacteria, and the 4th as a control section
4. take a q-tip and wet it with tap water
5. swab the subject's nostril in 2 circular motions
6. swab the subject's q-tip in the agar of the petri dish in 3 straight lines
7. dispose of the q-tip
8. repeat steps 4-7 with the other subjects
9. take your petri dish and tape it shut
10. place your petri dish in the incubator agar side up
11. the next day, gram stain your bacteria
12. after achieving your results, properly clean your equipment and disinfect your work area
13. ask your teacher what they want you to do with your bacterial slides and petri dish
Results:
Purpose- I'm doing this to determine how the amount and kind of bacteria varies in different people. I will be testing the amount of nasal bacteria in different people and whether this amount changes or stays the same based on their different characteristics.
Hypothesis- We are swabbing Kathleen's nose, Vanessa's nose, and Ace's nose. I predict that Ace will have the most bacterial growth in his section of the petri dish, but that all 3 kinds of bacteria will be the same.
Materials:
- q-tips
-petri dish
-wax pencils
-pencil
-paper
-incubator
-tap water
-sink
-inoculating loop
-bunsen burner
-microscope
-microscope slide
-bunsen lighter
-slide holder
-beaker
-dH2O
-crystal violet
-iodine (IKI)
-ethanol (alcohol 95%)
-safranin
-disinfectant
-paper towel
Petri dish sections:
1. Vanessa
2. Kathleen
3. Ace
4. Control center
Method:
1. take your petri dish and divide into 4 sections using your wax pencil
2. label the petri dish with you name
3. label each of the 4 sections "1, 2, 3, 4", 3 for your subject's bacteria, and the 4th as a control section
4. take a q-tip and wet it with tap water
5. swab the subject's nostril in 2 circular motions
6. swab the subject's q-tip in the agar of the petri dish in 3 straight lines
7. dispose of the q-tip
8. repeat steps 4-7 with the other subjects
9. take your petri dish and tape it shut
10. place your petri dish in the incubator agar side up
11. the next day, gram stain your bacteria
12. after achieving your results, properly clean your equipment and disinfect your work area
13. ask your teacher what they want you to do with your bacterial slides and petri dish
Results:
Analysis- All bacteria were gram positive (purple) with single and chained coccus. I think Vanessa's had the most chained bacteria because her bacteria was thicker, and we didn't spread it out as much on the slide (which I believe broke up more of the chains in the other samples of bacteria). Overall, I think all 4 types of the bacteria are the same because of very similar properties. I believe that the unknown bacteria was bacteria that spread from one section (which explains the similar qualities). I think it burnt because our petri dish was pushed to the very back of the incubator; explaining it's darker colour.
Conclusion- Our hypothesis was incorrect. Vanessa's section had the most bacterial growth. Despite Vanessa's having a greater quantity, all of the bacteria was the same type. I think we got these results because all of our bacteria were from noses (we believe the unknown bacteria was as well); causing all of the bacteria to be the same. The burnt unknown bacteria was the only issue, which can be prevented next time by not pushing our petri dish to the back of the incubator. If I were to further examine my hypothesis, I would take more care in doing and repeating the steps exactly the same each time and using a microscope with a higher power to make picking out similarities and differences between bacteria easier.
Conclusion- Our hypothesis was incorrect. Vanessa's section had the most bacterial growth. Despite Vanessa's having a greater quantity, all of the bacteria was the same type. I think we got these results because all of our bacteria were from noses (we believe the unknown bacteria was as well); causing all of the bacteria to be the same. The burnt unknown bacteria was the only issue, which can be prevented next time by not pushing our petri dish to the back of the incubator. If I were to further examine my hypothesis, I would take more care in doing and repeating the steps exactly the same each time and using a microscope with a higher power to make picking out similarities and differences between bacteria easier.